Your unpopular football opinion?

[melbcityguy]

fark there's plenty of mistakes in EPL, how else do you score most goals, from errors/mistakes, loss of possession, bad pass, bad defending, being out smarted, badly taken pen miss's, GK errors, its all the same in the end.

But that's not a mistake that's just getting bettered big difference lfc but it really doesn't matter I love the sport and epl just prefer a league

 

[zimbos05]

So my opinion firstly is that Ederson is a bang average keeper. Always has been.

I've got a few others, but can't think of them right now.

I'm convinced 90% of the people raving about the EPL in Australia are watching the highlights only and getting a skewed impression of it. You watch 16th vs 18th and it's rubbish.

I agree with your general premise of the EPL being a bit boring at times when its just tiki taka or when one team has 70% possession over the other, however, the argument could be made about the A-league too, just in the opposite sense. It's too drab and messy. Yes, they may be more physical, but the errors are glaring and the lower level quality is obvious. In saying that, I do agree with the general premise. There are times when I yearn for the early 00's EPL.

I only highlighted this quote because it speaks volumes to why the rift between the two leagues still exist. European fans have never been fully accepted in Australia. Always labelled as Eurosnobs. 90% is a very high number, but also a very wrong number. There are a huge chunk of EPL fans who know the days you speak of, but don't support the Aussie game as much because of the way they are typecast or treated when they speak/spoke of the EPL "being better". You are also making a generalised assumption about what most EPL fans are watching and doing in relation to the league. On a side note, I've watched some pretty good games between 16th and 18th. More often than not, they produce the games you say don't exist.

 

[JS96]

The apparent better keepers often have great defences in front of them.

Oblak has been pound for pound the best in the world I think. Decent defence too but he pulls out a lot of good saves.

 

[Muz]

There are times when I yearn for the early 00's EPL.

I didn't realise it at the time but the late 90s, early 00s were peak EPL.

Back when Ronaldo was 17, Cantona, Scholes, Henry, Bergkamp, Viera, Owen, Gerrard, Keane, Beckham, Zola, Yorke, Shearer and on and on were all running around.

I could be getting older too but it just do it for me anymore. Good luck to anyone who's into it though. Will always watch a set of highlights if they pop up.

 

[patjennings]

The apparent better keepers often have great defences in front of them.

Oblak has been pound for pound the best in the world I think. Decent defence too but he pulls out a lot of good saves.

Picked him years ago in FM. Was an absoulute bargain

 

[LFC]

You’re getting older as we all are Muz.
The peak ?
There is many for it keeps changing to different peaks.

Oblak is good !
I tend to think Pope is ok as well.
Oblak better than Allison ?

 

[Muz]

You’re getting older as we all are Muz.
The peak ?
There is many for it keeps changing to different peaks.

Oblak is good !
I tend to think Pope is ok as well.
Oblak better than Allison ?

Maybe I'm looking at it with rose coloured glasses but I'm thinking a lot less of this playing out of the back, possession, park the bus stuff we have now which shits me. It was more helter skelter then and more fun. Wasn't it or am I being nostalgic?

 

[LFC]

with age we always go back thinking those were the days pretty much in everything.
Pretty normal.
Tika taka is overdone and worse teams that don’t have the players capable make it very trying.
Spurs have been woeful at it last number of years for eg - the errors terrible just pump it !
My real dislike is VAR and the times it takes.
Just ruins the game compared to the past and the over done play acting then the fucker just gets up and runs again.
I loved the big tacklers as well miss that.

Being selfish the peaks I have enjoyed watching Klopp football has been immense.
Least he liked going for it in games !
Don’t sit back - adrenaline football despite the faults and the skill of Firmino Salah Mane was exciting stuff viewing.

Being nostalgic is fine - Stevie G times was immense and further back watching KK Rushie Keegan and our Johston.

 

[JS96]

About 18 months ago there was an online trendy saying certain blokes now simply couldn't make it during the Barclays EPL era. It was a different football back then. A lot of posts about rough Barclays players and gems. Think about some of the grounds we've lost since then. Upton Park was a massive loss. West Ham needed a rectangular stadium for 50k. Remember though, clubs had empty seats back then. Wigan used to have a lot of empty seats as did Boro or Blackburn. Tourists take up a lot now.

Late 90s early 00s were awesome and I felt the 04-12 or so era was great. I think a lot changed when Ferguson and Wenger left and we really saw a changing of the guard once City got bigger.

 

[grazorblade]

Probably my most unpopular opinion is: All coaches have weaknesses, but i think poppa, arnie and pim are/were good coaches

 

[JS96]

Probably my most unpopular opinion is: All coaches have weaknesses, but i think poppa, arnie and pim are/were good coaches

They're still overly positive. Good coaches who get the best out of certain individuals. Applied their system well most of the time.

 

[JS96]

I still maintain Serbia was our most difficult victory at a WC. Denmark didn't really turn up in Qatar and looked relieved to be going home.

Easy to forget how hard Serbia went early on in the game.

 

[booney52]

I still maintain Serbia was our most difficult victory at a WC. Denmark didn't really turn up in Qatar and looked relieved to be going home.

Easy to forget how hard Serbia went early on in the game.

Cahill outjumping the great Serbian CB Vidic to score and Holman's long range cracker were up there with the best goals the Socceroos have scored in WC matches

 

[JS96]

Just because you have a certain flag on your profile, doesn't mean you're a good footballer. Looking at you Ugarte.

 

[zimbos05]

Maybe I'm looking at it with rose coloured glasses but I'm thinking a lot less of this playing out of the back, possession, park the bus stuff we have now which shits me. It was more helter skelter then and more fun. Wasn't it or am I being nostalgic?

You're not wrong. It definitely was a different time of football, but I think there's more to it than just tiki taka.

Those footballers you talk came through a time where they had to earn their right to be there. They put in hard yards, and didn't have any of these fancy add ons and bonuses in their contracts. They also didn't have major weekly deals. Nowadays, players hold clubs to ransom, refuse to do the hard yards to earn their place, and then give up at the first sign of difficulty. They also carry on about things on social media, and show very little loyalty (as a United fan, I can definitely say this). Just look at how Bruno carried on the other day in the Fulham game. Like a petulant little child. If I was the manager, I would have been like, "off to Saudi with you". But that won't happen.

There's also been more diving and play acting. players getting softer.

So it's not purely because of the style of football, but also because what the footballers represent. Players in the 90s' early 00's would "die" for the badge.

 

[grazorblade]

Football was definitely most fun when there were distinct styles - english long ball, german bltizkrieg, spanish tikki taka, italian catenacio, brazillian joga bonito

Problem is, it's hard to convince anyone to do anything other than tikki takka or play on the counter since those are the most effective style

 

[BA81]

Football was definitely most fun when there were distinct styles - english long ball, german bltizkrieg, spanish tikki taka, italian catenacio, brazillian joga bonito

Problem is, it's hard to convince anyone to do anything other than tikki takka or play on the counter since those are the most effective style

For mine, you take each of them to meld together and/or you use each sparingly - but aren’t slavishly beholden to the one style/approach; not most of the time anyway.

 

[BA81]

Just because you have a certain flag on your profile, doesn't mean you're a good footballer.

Was an issue early on in the A-League’s existence when clubs signed Sunday-league Brazilians just because of their nationality(and that’s w/o mentioning Mario Jardel..)

 

[patjennings]

Was an issue early on in the A-League’s existence when clubs signed Sunday-league Brazilians just because of their nationality(and that’s w/o mentioning Mario Jardel..)

I remember early on Victory had 3 Brazilians - Alessandro, Fred & Claudinho. Lawrie McKinna's response was along the lines of we have our own Brazilian - Kwasildinho.

 

[BA81]

I remember early on Victory had 3 Brazilians - Alessandro, Fred & Claudinho. Lawrie McKinna's response was along the lines of we have our own Brazilian - Kwasildinho.

I wish all 3 of them had stuck around beyond S2; LOL at Adam Kwasnik, I’d all but forgotten about him